Sunday Brunch: A glance back, and forward

Another new year and another new decade are upon us, just as we put another year and another decade behind us.

We look ahead with hope, both in the real world and the sports world:

— That our contentious world will find peace over war and terrorism.

— That our economy will rebound and put people back to work.

— That our sports world will get back to its original function of being fun and entertaining, instead of big business and a paparazzi sideshow.

Speaking of sports, what will the new decade bring?

Surely, locally new stars will shine, and careers of aging stars will dim. The games will continue on.

In what manner is in doubt, as school districts and recreational facilities struggle with funding.

Perhaps the Spirit or the Loons will win titles, maybe both.

Hopefully, the Spirit continue to call The Dow Event Center home, but only time will tell on that one. If there is no millage renewal this fall, then all bets are off and downtown Saginaw moves one step closer to a ghost town. Rumored talk of some business entity constructing an arena in Midland next to Dow Diamond to create a local sports entertainment mecca makes logical sense to me,

Nationally, the new decade finally might be when we see a college football playoff, when some contract sanity returns to the professional ranks, and when an influx of instant replays make live sports seem not so live.

State-wide our new decade will produce a resurgence of the Red Wings, a rebuilding of the Pistons, the swan song of the Jim Leyland-led Tigers, and a Super Bowl appearance by the Lions. OK, we’re going with a longshot on that one, but you know what they say about the law of averages. Michigan and Michigan State will continue to field solid sports programs, with some ups and some downs, but plenty of memorable moments.

It’s anyone’s guess what will truly happen in the coming 10 years, but it’s a safe bet we won’t be short of sports to talk about.

Sports in Michigan and mid-Michigan in particular are plentiful.

Just a quick look back at our last decade reveals many moments to remind us including:

— The formation of the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.

— The arrival of the Saginaw Spirit hockey team and the Great Lakes Loons baseball team.

— The hosting of the Ontario Hockey League All-Star Game at The Dow Event Center, and the Midwest League All-Star Baseball Game at Dow Diamond.

— The departure of Lions training camp at Saginaw Valley State University.

— The arrival and relatively sudden departures of the Great Lakes Storm Continental Basketball Association team and the Saginaw Sting indoor football team.

— The celebration of many great local athletes; Saginaw’s LaMarr Woodley of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, NBA Slam-Dunk champion Jason Richardson, now of the Phoenix Suns as well as a bevy of athletes from Saginaw and its region who went on to the professional and collegiate ranks.

— The joyous rise of Saginaw’s Charles Rogers when he was selected second overall by the Lions in the 2003 NFL Draft, and the sadness and dismay felt while he threw his career down the toilet through repeated drug and alcohol abuse.

— The emergence of Central Michigan University as the MAC’s elite football program, and the rise of Saginaw Valley State football as one of the GLIAC’s cream of the crop.

— This past decade brought us many more memorable moments, including a long list of high school team and individual state championships. Those were highlighted by back-to-back titles won by Nouvel Catholic Central’s football and girls basketball teams, and Saginaw High’s boys basketball team.

— Don’t forget Frankenmuth’s Brad Redford, who won Mr. Basketball before heading to Xavier, or runner-up Draymond Green, who then helped MSU’s basketball team to the national championship game. Or Nouvel’s Jenny Ryan, who capped off a remarkable high school career with a Ms. Basketball Award before heading off to a collegiate career at the University of Michigan.

The list goes on, reminding us that amid all the turmoil, challenges and moments of despair, there still are times to celebrate, times to hope.

The year 2009 was an especially challenging year for many, including those of us in the newspaper business. Many colleagues saw their career come to an end; those left behind faced uncertainty in unfamiliar territory.

More often than not, the travails of 2009 caused one to worry about what the future will bring.

I was one of them.

But my year came to a splendid ending when I received a surprise phone call last Wednesday.

On the other end was a familiar voice, a voice of calm, a voice of reason, a voice that exudes all’s right with the world.

It was the voice of Ernie Harwell.

The 91-year-old former Tiger broadcaster is living with inoperable cancer of the bile duct, but he is doing so like a champion. His voice remains strong. His outlook positive. He has the faith and the peace of mind that we all should aspire for.

He didn’t want to talk about his own problems, but wanted to know more about how I was doing. Typical unselfish Ernie.

And of course, we talked a little baseball.

That simple conversation was the injection I needed to shoot me into 2010.

Now that we’re here, let’s make the most of it, just as Ernie is making the most of every day he has left on this earth.

Which we can only hope is many more.

Paul Neumeyer is sports topic editor for The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times. You can reach him by calling (989) 776-9770.